VI
EN
"Hello! How are you?" is the greeting Michio Imai sends to customers when they arrive at the Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe in the heart of Tokyo, Japan. However, what's special about this greeting is that it doesn't happen in person, but through penguin-shaped robots, while Imai himself is 800 km away from the cafe.
A robot is waving to the visitor.
The robot, shaped like a penguin, is controlled by people with disabilities.
Imai is one of 50 special employees at Dawn Cafe, known as "pilots" as they operate robots remotely. These "pilots" share a common trait: they all have physical and psychological disabilities but a desire to do something meaningful.
Imai suffers from somatic symptom disorder, making it very difficult for him to leave the house. Therefore, being hired as a robot operator for the cafe made him very happy. Imai said he often talks to customers about many topics, from the weather to their hometowns and health conditions. Besides Imai, other employees at Dawn are also people with neurological and physical disabilities, as well as patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The space at Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe
Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe opened in Nihonbashi district, central Tokyo, last June, but its staff includes not only Japanese residents but also people from overseas. Initially, the cafe was planned to open in 2020, coinciding with the event.Tokyo 2020 Paralympic GamesHowever, the opening ceremony of this event had to be postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition to robots greeting customers at the entrance, Dawn cafe also has about 20 mini-robots placed on tables and in other areas. These robots, named OriHime, are equipped with cameras, microphones, and speakers, allowing operators to communicate with customers remotely.
These mini-robots help customers connect with a remote controller.
While customers chat and order with staff through those mini-robots, three larger, humanoid versions of the robots move around serving drinks or greeting customers. There's even a robot bartender in a brown apron at the bar, tasked with making French press coffee.
This special robot is a bartender.
What's admirable is that the robot cafe project originated from the idea of someone who experienced physical difficulties as a child - Kentaro Yoshifuji (33 years old).
The co-founder of a robot manufacturing company shared that he spent his childhood indoors, unable to attend school due to health issues. Therefore, he was always deeply concerned about finding ways to help people with disabilities work without leaving their homes. He confided that Dawn Cafe is a place where people can integrate into society.
Kentaro Yoshifuji, the father of the robot cafe project idea.
The cafe was opened with the support of large companies and crowdfunding. The idea behind building this cafe wasn't simply to experiment with technology; customers came not just to see the robots firsthand, but also to meet and chat with the people behind them.
As can be seen, robots are not only present at Dawn but are becoming increasingly common in Japan. Along with the appearance of robots, many people with disabilities have gained more job opportunities. The opening of Dawn, coinciding with the Paralympic Games, becomes even more meaningful for people with disabilities, providing them with a gateway to self-confidence and integration into the community, as well as allowing able-bodied people to better understand the less fortunate in society.
